syrian culture, canadian culture, &...

Settlement | Employment | Language | Community Connections

Syrian Culture, Canadian Culture,& Integration

Presenter: Steve ReynoldsFebruary 3, 2016

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Regional Connections Settlement | Employment | Language | Community Connections

• Welcome• Arab & Syrian Culture

• Activity 1: • Mini-lecture 1: Arab & Syrian Cultural Background & Etiquette

• Integration: Cultural Norms & Values• Activity 2: Either/Or• Mini-lecture 2: Cultural Norms & Values

• Feedback & Wrap-up

Agenda


• To raise awareness about Syrian culture• To discuss the role of cultural norms and values in integration• To take away a few ideas for how we each can “help”

Learning Objectives


• Write your name in large letters in the middle of a piece of paper• Answer the question: Who are you?

Write your identities in small letters around your name. These should be identities you feel comfortable sharing.

• Hold your paper and circulate around the room introducing yourself, discussing your identities, and asking other people about their identities. (10 minutes)

Identity Tags


• How did it feel to define yourself in this way?• How many of you wrote down family roles? Hobbies? Job titles?• How many of your identities are readily visible without the identity

paper? What identities are visible without the identity paper?• How well do these identities say who you are? What is it like to

capture your identities in words and phrases?• What identities did you take for granted and didn’t write down?• What are some things you can take away from this activity?

Identity Tags: Follow-up


Arab Culture


• Arab is not an ethnicity or a religion• Any person who adopts the Arabic language is typically called an Arab• 22 Arab countries• Over 200 million Arabs worldwide• Arabs may be Muslim, Christian, or Jew• There is a variety of government/political structures• Religion informs politics and law to varying degrees• A significant wealth gap between oil rich countries and countries

without oil• A young population – percentage of population under the age of 15:

• Developed world: 20%• Developing world: 35%• Arab world: 42%

Arab Culture Basics* - Overview


*“Arab Cultural Awareness: 58 Factsheets” Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, Kansas. January 2006.

https://fas.org/irp/agency/army/arabculture.pdf

https://fas.org/irp/agency/army/arabculture.pdf

• Family is the key social unit in Arab society• Loyalty, honour, and respect are deep values connected to family• Families are patriarchal and hierarchal• Within the Arab world, the least restrictive living conditions for women

exist in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon • Women may cover the head/body for modesty (hijab in Syria)• Men shake hands beginning with the eldest male in the room; males

only shake hands with a female if she offers her hand first• Your right hand on your heart and a slight bow can be used instead of

a handshake to greet the opposite gender• It’s impolite to show the soles of your feet to a guest• Physical space is “closer” in public and there is more touch and

displays of affection in same-gender relationships

Arab Culture Basics – Family, Gender, and Greetings


• A Halal diet excludes pork, alcohol, and certain meats and animal products

• There is a range of practices of Halal• A moderate practitioner of Halal, as a guest, will only refuse pork and

(probably) alcohol – Syrians are typically more moderate• Guests will normally be offered a drink (tea or coffee) which it is polite

to accept immediately• Guests are often offered a snack, which it is polite to refuse before

accepting• If eating, offering food, or taking food by hand, the right hand only is

used• It’s polite to leave a little food on the plate when finished

Arab Culture Basics – Food and Dining


• There are 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide• 12% of the world’s Muslims are Arab• Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation• Egypt is the most populous Arab Muslim nation• Turkey and Iran are Muslim but not Arab countries• Key Terms

• Qu’ran (Koran) – Islamic holy book• Mosque – Muslim place of worship• Mullah – local religious leader/clergy• Sharia – Islamic law• Sunni and Shi’a – two main branches of Islam• Jihad – a personal struggle

• Islam’s Five Pillars of Faith• Shahadah – the declaration of faith• Saleh – prayer (five times per day facing Mecca, if possible)• Zakah – alms• Sawm – fasting (the month of Ramadan – June 2016)• Hajj – pilgrimage (to Mecca)

Arab Culture Basics - Islam


• Education• High rates of primary school attendance nationally, lower rates in rural areas• High dropout rates at the secondary level for girls• 26% of eligible post-secondary population attended post-secondary school prior to

conflict (2010)• Public school attendance dropped to 6% in some areas after conflict started• Children may or may not have had access to education while in refugee camps

• Health care• Significant gap between health care services in urban areas vs. rural• One doctor per 339 people in urban centres, one doctor per 1,906 people in rural prior

to conflict• By 2013, half of the country’s healthcare facilities destroyed by conflict• UNHCR (2013) found mental health to be the most prevalent health concern for

Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan ages 5 to 17

• Police and authority figures• The primary conflict is between the people and their government• Over 200,000 Syrians have been killed, most of these at the hands of government

forces• Arbitrary and false arrests targeting those who oppose the government

Other Dynamics to Consider*


*“Population Profile: Syrian Refugees”, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. November, 2015.http://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/refugees/syrian_population_profile.pdf*“Refugees from Syria”, Cultural Orientation Resource Center. November 2014.http://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/refugees/cultural_orientation_resource.pdf

http://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/refugees/syrian_population_profile.pdf

http://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/refugees/cultural_orientation_resource.pdf

For discussion with your group:• What are some Canadian values?

• How are these values made visible in daily life?

• What is an example of normal Canadian behaviour?

Cultural Norms and Values


• Activity: Either/OrIn groups of two, go through the Either/Or handout and read the cultural behaviours on each. Discuss and decide which one you agree with the most (which one feels the most “right” to you) and check that behaviour with a pen or pencil.

• Follow-up at your table:• Why did you select the behaviour you did?• What value(s) might be behind this behaviour?• Might this “normal” behaviour be easy or difficult for a newcomer to

adapt to? Why?

Cultural Norms & Values


Risk Tolerance Change StabilityConcept of Self Individual Interdependent

Family Nuclear ExtendedSource of Status Self-made Birth/Gender/RolePower Distance Equality HierarchyTime Orientation Scheduled Time Personal Interaction

Level of Formality Informal FormalCommunication Direct Indirect

Context Low Context High ContextBurden of

Comprehension Speaker Listener

Cultural Norms & Values


• Resource: Intercultures Website (Department of Foreign Affairs)• http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/countryinsights-apercuspays-eng.asp

Cultural Norms and Values


http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/countryinsights-apercuspays-eng.asp

Who should adapt?


NewcomerCommunity or Organization

80% 20%

• The social support is huge! Being welcoming, interested, and engaged in newcomers’ lives socially makes all other parts of their integration easier for them to manage.

• A sense of the transition they are going through • It takes time• It’s different for each individual• There are unique dynamics for different family members• You’re able to give informed advice and information (“Canadian insight”)

• Be self-aware• Stories and experiences of challenges or miscommunications are often cultural –

what is happening between Canadian cultural norms and the newcomer’s cultural norms, and how can I depersonalize the situation and offer good advice?

• Adjust my own behaviour to be more welcoming and effective

• Bridge the gap – by looking for the values that lie behind behaviours in a culture, differences can be overcome

• Balance your own expectations – the 80/20

How can I help?


“We think [this] is a good place. Everything is better. From the very beginning, I told my family, we are going to be like the Canadians. I’m not going to bring my life – we are going to be changed. So far, it is as I read. The people are very nice, even nicer than I read about.

We see the whole world here…you can see everybody, from every country. It is lovely to be multicultural and one culture. In the end, you are Canadian. We love this country, we love the people, the generosity of them, and we thank them.”

-- Vanig Garabedian, one month after arriving as the first refugee off the first flight to arrive from Syria*

Integration


*http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com//news/canada/in-his-own-words-a-syrian-refugees-first-month-in-canada

• http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2681580755• Listen for how Doaa has adjusted and integrated

• In what ways has she changed?• In what ways has she stayed the same (preserved norms and values)?

Definitely Not the Opera – Altona Feature


http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2681580755

• Welcome• Arab & Syrian Culture

• Activity 1: • Mini-lecture 1: Arab & Syrian Cultural Background & Etiquette

• Integration: Cultural Norms & Values• Activity 2: Either/Or• Mini-lecture 2: Cultural Norms & Values

• Feedback & Wrap-up

Agenda


• To raise awareness about Syrian culture• To discuss the role of cultural norms and values in integration• To take away a few ideas for how we each can “help”

Learning Objectives


• Evaluation forms

• Contact:Steve Reynolds - [email protected] / 204-325-4059www.regionalconnections.cawww.facebook.com/RegionalConnections

• PowerPoint download:

Thank you!


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